Dene Roberts, 35, had his Ford Fiesta confiscated by the town's magistrates in what was believed to be one of the first legal snatches of its kind in the town.

The car, the court heard, had been used to carry stolen tiles from a farm on Sugar Lane in Whiteley Green, near Adlington.

Police, acting on a tip off, arrived to find 20 stolen tiles stacked in the vehicle.

The defendant, who was found close by hiding in bushes, said later he thought they had been abandoned.

Roberts of Hewetson Crescent, The Weston, Macclesfield, was fined £50 after admitting theft. He was also ordered to pay £100 costs and told he had to give up his car as it had been used in the commission of a crime.

The defendant faced another charge with his partner Susan Heath, 29, of the same address. They were each fined £50 after pleading guilty to abstracting electricity. Heath was ordered to pay £25 costs.

The couple said they were given a helping hand by a lodger when they had no electricity.

Police found a bypassed electricity box at the couple's home and an electricity meter had been tampered with, while the lights and the television were switched on.

Both defendants denied bypassing the circuit.

Mark James, defending, said: "They had just transferred from one fuel supplier to another.

"They had no electricity and the companies were not very good at answering the phone.

"The calls themselves were costing them £6 a day from their benefits.

"Then the lodger came up with this solution."

Mr James said his clients tried to get the fuel company to put things right. "This was an emergency," he said.